Breaking the Small Business Code

Admissions After Dropping the SAT

       This blog is a follow up on the NACAC call for colleges to consider dropping admissions tests (usually short-handed to "drop the SAT").   This parallels my blog article on dropping AP classes/AP testing.  Well my favorite source of insider college information -- the Inside Higher Education eMail -- does a GREAT job interviewing Wake Forest who has gone "SAT-Optional" to see how they have done since dropping the SAT.

     The biggest issue for keeping or dropping the test is how do you measure potential for college success? As a college, you want to have the best students and the highest graduation rate.  But you also want to make sure you have the broadest range of student types and experiences are on your campus.  The push-pull between best students and broadest types is behind this recommendation to drop tests.

    There are good reasons for dropping the test and good reasons for keeping them.  The biggest reason for dropping admissions tests is the contention that testing does not accurately represent the potential of a student to do college level work -- it represents how well they "test".  The second reasons for dropping testing is the fact that minority groups do not do as well on these tests which in turn, means fewer minorities are admitted to higher ranked colleges.

     On the other side, there are good reasons for keeping the tests.  Schools who have successfully dropped the test are mostly small, liberal arts schools where testing is not a good measure of success.  Students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) are more likely to measure more clearly.  Also, the bigger the college the more likely it is your grades will be based on class tests because there are just too many students to measure classroom performance any other way. So testing "well" may be a good indicator of success at a BIG college.

     But the main reason most schools rely on Admissions Tests is it is a "shorthand" for how good the high school education was!  Most parents and students don't know how the "ranking" of their high school impacts their admissions. Per the article, Wake Forest Admissions are now asking more questions than they used to of high school counselors.  Without a test like the SAT or ACT, the admissions staff needs to get a better feel for the applicant's high school's rank and the "rigor of a curriculum".  This is why I am concerned about dropping AP classes which are taught at the most rigorous levels (read my blog and comment!)

     So what if you are concerned that your school or classes may not be perceived as "good enough"? Should you still take and submit your SAT and ACT scores?  What if you had no AP classes?

     In my opinion, it will depend on the size of the college and their commitment to doing a thorough job of research on you and your high school background.  That means number of applicants and number of admitted students.  The more students, the more likely it will help.  Per Wake Forest, the good news is if  an applicant attends a high school with 'a weak curriculum' and  was unable to take the kinds of college-prep courses and "if you feel the score is a good representation, then go ahead and submit. If you don’t, don’t.”

     My guess is that most students who "test well" will continue to submit scores.  Students who don't test well will gravitate towards colleges who don't require or want tests.  It will be interesting to watch what happens over the next 10 years to colleges without testing and how their graduates do in the work world.

    What's your opinion on admissions testing?

Do AP Classes Teach the Subject or to Pass the Test?

     My favorite resource for college-related news US News has ANOTHER great article -  this time on how some high schools are considering dropping the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) classes. 

    The reason being given is it "restricts" how teachers can teach.  The issue teachers say is they want to put less emphasis on memorization and test preparation and more on "exploration" of the material.  This is another example of the conflict between testing to make sure our students have a minimum level of skills versus teaching to pass the exit or other measurement exam!

     What complicates things is the AP class is considered as being a "valuable"  indicator of the ability of the student to do college-level work compared to taking a traditional/non-AP classes.  Because AP classes are taught to a specific "rigorous" college prep level and there is a national test through the College Board (same people who do the SAT), it helps validate a student's college potential compared to other students.  This is especially valuable when the college admissions staff does not know much about the high school's reputation.

     Most high schools also add a point to the student's classroom grade (e.g., a 3.0 is a 4.0 in an AP class) in recognition of the difficulty of the classes compared to the traditional level classes.  This AP bonus can mean a higher overall GPA value for students.  The problem in dropping the AP classes is the more elite the college, the more likely other applicants are taking AP classes and that their high school GPA will be over 4.0!

    I can agree that "learning" may be different when there is less emphasis on memorization and preparation for passing the AP test. I also agree there is a need to measure the "learning outcome" so we can tell if our children are getting the education they need.  So both approaches are right and both are wrong.  We need a blend of both!

   Again, what do you think?  What should we do to measure student preparation versus teaching beyond passing a test?